Bitcoin-friendly Donald Trump won was inaugurated in January because the forty seventh President of america of America. However forward of being formally sworn in, the commander in chief dropped a meme coin.
Sure, you learn that proper. Operating on the Solana community, the TRUMP token at one level had a market cap of $14 billion. It’s since plunged to $1.5 billion, however the transfer signaled the brand new President’s rising enthusiasm for the digital asset area after campaigning to assist Bitcoiners and the fast-moving sphere as a complete.
Trump branded himself as a crypto-friendly candidate forward of November’s divisive election, bringing in thousands and thousands of {dollars} in cash and digital asset donations from Silicon Valley tech leaders. After which he received.
Nevertheless it wasn’t at all times like this: President Trump was as soon as a staunch crypto critic. So how did we get right here?
Trump’s most defining early touch upon cryptocurrency dates again to 2019, when as president he made it clear he didn’t like Bitcoin.
“I’m not a fan of Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies, which aren’t cash, and whose worth is very unstable and primarily based on skinny air,” he mentioned on Twitter on the time, earlier than slamming Facebook’s plans for a digital forex.
“We now have just one actual forex within the USA, and it’s stronger than ever, each reliable and dependable,” he added. “It’s by far essentially the most dominant forex wherever on the planet, and it’ll at all times keep that manner. It’s referred to as america greenback!”
Trump reiterated his beliefs throughout a Bitcoin bull run in 2021. “Bitcoin simply looks as if a rip-off,” he mentioned on Fox Enterprise, repeating that he needed the greenback to be the world’s high forex.
It took a very long time for him to explicitly say he appreciated the highest cryptocurrency, and the journey began with an unlikely crypto craze: NFT collectibles.
By the tip of 2021, after Trump had left the White Home, his spouse Melania announced her plans for a Solana-based NFT assortment. Solana Labs clarified that it had nothing to do with the gathering launching on the blockchain, and Trump continued to slam crypto as “harmful” regardless of his spouse’s enterprise.
The subsequent 12 months, nevertheless, the commander-in-chief launched his personal NFT assortment. Minted on Ethereum scaling community Polygon, the digital buying and selling card assortment was at first ridiculed—however it nonetheless offered out shortly and made thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
Trump later said that he solely launched the gathering as a result of he thought they had been “kind of cute.” He has since launched extra collections on Polygon, and even minted a number of the third set on Bitcoin by way of the Ordinals protocol. A fourth assortment launched in August 2024 with the biggest variety of NFTs to date, although lower than 10% of the accessible whole was finally minted.
Trump Credits Success of His NFTs for Change of Heart on Bitcoin and Crypto
Trump has even claimed that the success of his NFT collections, and the stunning variety of consumers who used cryptocurrency quite than fiat forex, helped change his perspective on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
A digital pockets tied to the President by blockchain analytics agency Arkham Intelligence exhibits that he has raked in thousands and thousands in royalties from the NFTs—and in addition holds a number of the largest unofficial Trump meme cash, which possible had been despatched to the pockets with out Trump’s information or consent.
Nevertheless it was simply final 12 months when Trump actually upped the pro-crypto speak. “I earn cash with it, I’ve enjoyable with it too,” Trump said in a March 2024 interview with CNBC’s Squawk Field. “Loopy new currencies, that’s what I name them.”
Then, whereas internet hosting holders of his NFTs at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Might 2024, he told the group he was “good with” crypto—and slammed Biden and the Democrats for being “towards it.” Many noticed the occasion as a turning point in crypto coverage conversations.
Rumors spread that month that the world’s richest man and largest donor to the Trump marketing campaign, Elon Musk, had been advising the presidential hopeful on a crypto technique. (Musk denied the experiences.) That July, the Republican occasion issued a draft occasion platform that explicitly mentioned crypto—a first for the trade.
Is Trump VP Pick J.D. Vance Good for Crypto?
After surviving an assassination try, the enterprise mogul and former actuality TV star earned Musk’s public endorsement, in addition to help from many different outstanding names within the digital asset area. And main crypto figures just like the Winklevoss twins of Gemini and Kraken founder Jesse Powell donated sizable sums to Trump.
Trump then chosen Senator J.D. Vance as his decide for operating mate, with the Vice President seen on the time as a pro-crypto candidate who beforehand disclosed Bitcoin holdings of between $100,000 and $250,000 again in 2021.
‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin’: Trump Vows to Establish ‘Strategic BTC Stockpile’
However essentially the most tangible signal of Trump’s rising embrace of crypto got here when he spoke on the 2024 Bitcoin Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he promised the group that he would construct a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” for the nation and that his plan was to flip the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet.”
The Trump household then teased a decentralized finance (DeFi) venture dubbed World Liberty Monetary, with Trump himself posting a number of social media teasers throughout the preliminary rollout.
The President’s son Donald Jr. mentioned that the crypto platform might be egalitarian. “For too lengthy, the typical American has been squeezed by the massive banks and monetary elites. It is time we take a stand—collectively,” he said on Twitter (aka X).
Then, a day after the second try on his life, Trump launched the venture throughout a dwell interview with Rug Radio (Decrypt’s sister firm). World Liberty Monetary goals to supply borrowing and lending providers for cryptocurrencies on Ethereum’s community.
As crypto token launches go, the venture was a little bit of a flop proper out of the gate, solely managing to promote 4% of its allotted tokens throughout its launch. However gross sales ticked up considerably forward of Trump’s inauguration, with the remainder of the allotment promoting out on January 20—the day he returned to the White Home. Decrypt then reported that the World Liberty Monetary venture had launched its personal stablecoin.
Trump Crypto Project World Liberty Launches Stablecoin on Ethereum, BNB Chain
The Republican additionally has extra crypto individuals on his group. Bitcoin bull Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his marketing campaign to endorse Trump, after which joined Trump’s transition group. Now he is the Secretary of Well being and Human Companies. Orange-pilled Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick can be a part of Trump’s political squad, now serving as Secretary of Commerce.
Elon Musk and DOGE: What You Need to Know About the Department of Government Efficiency
Elsewhere, noted Dogecoin fan Elon Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a program to slash budgets and reduce jobs throughout the federal government. He has since stepped down from the position amid a messy public break-up with Trump.
Trump final 12 months turned the primary present or former President of the U.S.—that we all know of—to have used Bitcoin to purchase one thing: On the fashionable New York Metropolis crypto bar, PubKey, the ex-President bought a burger utilizing the cryptocurrency.
“It’s the start of a new period,” he mentioned, referring to the digital asset trade. And it wasn’t simply speak: On January 17, he launched a meme coin operating on Solana, and the token is now one of the vital helpful meme cash in existence.
What It Was Like Inside the Trump Crypto Dinner
The TRUMP token launch has been widely criticized by politicians and analysts, and is seen by some as a potential avenue for corruption. However whereas the value is down sharply from the height, it has continued to see buying and selling demand, together with in April when Trump revealed plans to host an exclusive dinner for high TRUMP holders.
Trump’s unique dinner—held in Might for the highest 220 holders of the meme coin—was a quaint occasion, according to attendees who spoke to Decrypt, and the president solely made a transient look. VIP attendees, who obtained a particular tour alongside entry to the occasion, held a median of $4.8 million worth of TRUMP to get a high spot on the occasion.
However the Republican, in his a number of 5 months in workplace, has made different, extra severe marketing campaign pledges a actuality: He established a strategic Bitcoin reserve and have become the primary president to sign a crypto-related bill into law—ending the IRS’s so-called DeFi dealer rule, which might have imperiled the event of crypto apps in America.
Trump Crypto Wallet ‘Isn’t Moving Forward’ After World Liberty Clash: Eric Trump
Trump’s SEC has additionally scrapped quite a few lawsuits and towards crypto corporations from the earlier administration, and his household is continuous to—albeit controversially—push forward with its personal crypto ventures: Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are launched American Bitcoin, a collaboration with Bitcoin mining agency Hut8 that plans to develop into the “world’s largest and best Bitcoin miner.”
The Trump sons are additionally planning to launch a crypto pockets by way of their World Liberty Monetary venture. Initially, the TRUMP meme coin group mentioned it might launch its personal Trump-themed pockets, however that plan was canceled after a public (but short-lived) dispute with Eric, Barron, and Don Jr. (The Trump household, apparently, seems to have reduced its stake in World Liberty.)
Trump Media Raises $2.4 Billion to Launch Bitcoin Treasury
Extra symbolically, Trump and his household have spoken out towards large banks and what they deem to be censorship. In an August govt order, the president prohibited the debanking of crypto-related corporations, siding with trade leaders who’d beforehand complained about being mistreated by the TradFi world.
Trump’s media firm Trump Media and Know-how Group in March additionally signed an settlement to group with Crypto.com to supply ETFs, with Trump Media itself planning to invest its own money into the products. The businesses have since teamed up to launch a treasury for Crypto.com’s Cronos (CRO) token, which will even be used throughout Trump Media’s Fact Social platforms. On high of all that, Trump Media bought $2 billion value of Bitcoin and associated securities in July after elevating billions to achieve this.
What’s Up With the Golden Trump Bitcoin Statue That Was in Washington DC?
Trump critics have argued that the president’s digital asset ventures represent a battle of curiosity; Silicon Valley bigwigs say he’s pro-innovation. One factor is for certain, although: President Trump has gone all-in on crypto, shrugging off his previous perspective on the trade.
And he is earned loads of followers within the course of—a few of whom briefly erected a golden statue of Trump holding a Bitcoin in Washington D.C. in September.
Editor’s word: This story was initially printed on July 19, 2024 and final up to date with new information on October 5, 2025.
